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An upgraded version of the Norco Scene with hydraulic brakes and an electric conversion kit.

Why Buy a Stepthrough?

Stepthroughs are one of the most popular style of bike we sell here at Perth Electric Bicycles and they offer a number of advantages over the more conventional diamond framed bikes. They typically offer a more comfortable, upright riding position that affords good all round vision and are also significantly easier to get on and off for those with knee and hip injuries. These features combine to make an incredibly practical and easy to ride bike, ideal for running errands and enjoying a more relaxed rides with family and friends. Additionally, they’re ideal for people new to cycling or for those who are lacking confidence on the bike. They’re also a great choice for electric conversion to make them the ultimate town bike!

Going Electric

A great example of our standard electric conversion kit for a stepthrough.

Stepthrough bikes are often ideal for electric conversion, but there are a couple of things to consider, most importantly: where to fit the battery. Oftentimes, a rear-rack style battery is the best option for this, given that they don’t encroach on the stepthrough clearance whilst also providing useful storage capacity. This can, on occasion make the bike a bit tail-heavy, however, this can be offset to some extent by opting for a front wheel motor kit.

There are, however, a number of newer stepthrough designs that have sufficient clearance to mount a central battery which greatly benefits handling balance by keeping the additional weight central and as low down as possible. Bikes such as the Specialized Roll, the Avanti Metro and others will allow for this. For the best bike in this category, however, look no further than the Norco Scene.

The Norco Scene

One of the best stepthrough bikes for electric conversion

The Norco Scene has been around for about a year now and in that time has become a shop favourite for how it takes an electric conversion and, more importantly, how well it rides! With its lightweight, single bar alloy frame and an excellent riding position it’s a great all rounder for everyday use. Other features such as disc brakes and generously sized city tyres allow for dependable, not to mention comfortable performance.

We’ve fitted it with our centrally mounted PANASONIC Tigershark battery that has minimal intrusion into the frame clearance and a 250 Watt rear-drive motor. That said, this bike has enough versatility to accommodate a wide variety of different electric conversion kits that we offer.

Arrange a Test Ride

Coming into the busy period of the year, we’re fully stocked on these fantastic bikes and electric conversion kits to match, so there’s never been a better time to come down for a free test ride. And for any further information on these bikes and other electric stepthroughs don’t hesitate to get in touch.

With the summer months well and truly underway, we’ve been busy fitting out bikes of all shapes and sizes with our SOLARBIKE electric conversion kits. This one from last week stood out as the pick of our recent builds: the full suspension Specialized Epic.

Specialized Epic with Electric Conversion Kit

There’s a lot to consider when selecting a full suspension mountain bike for an electric conversion as we’ll mention in a later post. In any case, the Epic really does tick all the boxes!

The Bike

This is a 2007 Specialized Epic which featured a unique suspension design that allowed for minimal intrusion of the suspension components in the frame clearance. They’re super efficient and capable on the trails, not to mention comfortable on road which makes them a great platform for an electric conversion. Added to this, the high end Shimano Deore XT components make for excellent performance and reliability.

The Kit

The Epic is one of those rare full suspension bikes that is compatible with both a rear wheel hub kit and a mid drive system. We opted to fit it out with a BAFANG 750 Watt high power system to give it unbeatable performance both on and off road. Equally rare is the amount of clearance in the front triangle which allowed us to fit our 48V 10.5Ah Tigershark battery. The result is an electric conversion kit that integrates well with the bike in terms of both appearance and function.

The Ride

Suffice it to say that the Epic was an absolute blast to ride both on a paved surface and on tracks and trails. The electric kit being mounted as central and as low down as possible greatly aids the handling balance whilst the BAFANG motor provides phenomenal power and torque. The bike is more than 10 years old now but still feels as up to date as more recent models with sharp handling and comfortable ride quality.

The Verdict

Bikes like this really do make a strong case for the versatility and performance of our electric conversion kits! If you’re thinking about converting your own bike, why not consider stopping by our Fremantle store for a chat. We’ve got a huge range of kit options to suit all needs and budgets as well as a huge depth of experience in converting bikes to match!

With summer fast approaching, we’ve been getting some exciting new models on our shop floor ready to test ride. This one is perhaps the pick of our recent builds, the MERIDA Speeder 20 flat bar road bike.

It’s a versatile bike for both commuting and fitness featuring dependable SHIMANO hydraulic disc brakes, a 24 speed drivetrain and a lightweight alloy frame. We’ve fitted it out with our 250 Watt rear-drive electric conversion kit with a 5 stage pedal assist system to make this the ultimate daily commuter as well as a great bike to get out and about on this summer.

Sizes:

Small, Medium, Medium/Large, Large, Extra Large

Electric Kit Options:

200 Watt, 250 Watt, 350 Watt, 500 Watt, 1000 Watt*

Battery Options:

36 Volt: 9Ah, 11.6Ah, 14 Ah, 21Ah

48 Volt: 10.5Ah, 17.5Ah

Pricing:

Our SOLAR BIKE electric conversion kits have made it far and wide! This particular customer, Gordon has been giving his 1000w mid drive the ride around in Wales with over 650Km ridden so far and growing!

Here the bike is pictured parked up on the Llandudno promenade, North of Snowdonia National Park.

The SOLARBIKE Road Runner, the unbeatable commuter bicycle is now on a one time only discount special of $2900- down from $3990!

The Road Runner is an electric bicycle with commuting in mind, equipped with a BAFANG torque sensing mid drive motor for smooth performance paired with a long range Panasonic 48V lithium ion battery to create a high end commuting machine.

It’s the time of year for late nights spent watching le Tour with Liggett and Sherwen reminding us how warm it is in the Northern Hemisphere. Indeed, in the midst of a Perth winter it can be a little hard to maintain the motivation to get out there on the bike. That’s where this recent conversion of ours comes in.

The bike in question is a Lemond Alpe d’Huez; few names are as heavily steeped in the folklore of the Tour de France. Greg Lemond was a cycling legend, inspiring generations of elite American road cyclists and as for Alpe d’Huez, well, ask anyone who follows cycling and they’ll tell you just how many of the most captivating stages have traversed this grueling climb. Suffice it to say that this bike was a purpose built, lightweight road bike set up in singlespeed for simple, no nonsense performance and handling.

Its owner, Dennis, loved it, but wanted to take it on longer rides without worrying about getting caught out by the odd steep climb or brutal headwind that Perth bike commuters are all too familiar with. We fitted it with an electric conversion kit that was in keeping with the simplicity and performance of this bike.

One of the lightest Electric Bikes we’ve set up, the Alpe D’Huez is sure to make hill climbing a breeze!

Using one of our 700c Rear hub motor kits and a Panasonic 36V 9Ah tube battery we were able to convert this bike into a truly capable recreational road bike. Weighing in at under 16 kilos, it’s one of the lightest builds we’ve ever done which ensures good acceleration from the 250 Watt motor as well as a range of over 35 kilometres on a charge with light to moderate pedal input.

As regular cyclists will tell you, staying on the bike during the winter can be a drag but it’s truly rewarding if you stick it out. So if you’re looking for something that’ll motivate you to keep riding even when the weather gets inclement, an electric conversion kit for your bike may be well worth considering!

It’s been pretty busy at the shop over the last couple of weeks and in that time, we’ve churned out some great new electric conversions on some models that we had not yet had the pleasure of working on. That said, there have been plenty of bread and butter conversions too like this shop favourite: The Giant Cross City.

We’ve been fitting our electric conversion kits to these bikes from the very beginning and it’s easy to see why: these are well priced, well specc’d and are fully compatible with our systems. Not only this, but they’re a blast to ride! This one is the women’s specific RX version which runs a high end Shimano 30 speed groupset, Giant’s lightweight wheelset and finishing kit and a SL Aluminium frame mated with a composite fork.

A great flatbar road bike with our long range electric conversion kit

We’ve fitted it with one of our newest systems: the Tigershark 36V 14Ah Lithium Ion Battery. This is a slimline, lightweight system featuring the latest Panasonic cells and should give a range of around 55kms with light to moderate pedaling input. As for the motor, the composite fork means we’ve opted for a rear wheel drive 200 Watt mini motor which should give good power assistance up to speeds of 30 km/h.

The entire Cross City family of bikes are ideal for electric conversion and this top spec one makes for a very light final product, weighing in at around 18 kilos all up. With quality components and construction it’s sure to be a reliable commuter that’s comfortable and efficient enough to cover long distances week in, week out.

Please come in and take a free test ride on one of the cool little YUN electric bicycles. They’re 50% off until stock lasts! Usually $1450, they’re now selling briefly for just $725. These ebikes have a single speed rear hub motor, 3 levels of pedal assist and a bunch of colour options. They’re fun little electric bikes that are great for getting around the neighborhood!

Over the last few months we’ve been working to find the best e-bike setup for a folding bicycle and we may have found it! Folding bikes are an excellent choice for those who need to use public transport as a leg of their commute or who have limited space in which to store a bike either in the home or at work.

The Bike

The bike in question is an XDS City Pro. It’s a well equipped and well priced folding bike that’s absolutely ideal for shorter commute distances. When in action, its generously sized wheelbase is comfortable enough for a larger framed rider yet it is still able to fold down to a manageable size for stowage on peak hour public transit services. Furthermore, the smaller 20″ wheels make this bike extremely agile around town which is likely where this bike will see most of its action.

The City Pro’s componentry is of excellent spec for this price point with a SRAM X4 8 Speed rear dearilleur and a pair of Tektro V Brakes for reliable stopping. Pair that with a lightweight alloy frame and XDS’s comfortable finishing kit and you’ve got a seriously capable bike at an excellent price point of $550.

The Electric Conversion

To make this already great bike an even more versatile e-bike, we’ve fitted it with a Solarbike 20″ rear-drive swift kit. It features a street-legal 250 Watt rear hub motor and a Panasonic 36v 9Ah ‘Frog’ Battery specifically designed for use on folding bikes. The rear-drive configuration affords the high torque motor extra traction which is sure to make the steering performance more predictable. Furthermore, the seatpost mounted battery retains the functionality of the City Pro’s folding mechanism.

Performance

The e-bike conversion kit from Solarbike provides the XDS City Pro with great all round performance. The 250 Watt motor should give a top speed of between 25 and 30 km/h with the smaller 20″ wheels allowing for great acceleration and hill-climbing ability. Meanwhile, the 9Ah battery should give ranges of up to 35 km/h with light to moderate pedaling making this e-bike ideal for inner city commuting. Perhaps most importantly, with its snappy handling and great acceleration, the electric City Pro is great fun to ride!

Pricing and Availability

Currently we’ve got one electric XDS City Pro setup and ready for a test ride in our store down in Fremantle. Alternatively, the bikes can be ordered in and setup within 7 working days.

The Electric City Pro is competitively priced at $1750.
Finally, if you’ve got an existing folding bike that you wish to have converted, Solarbike conversions start at $1150 Installed.

When you’ve converted as many bikes as we have, you grow accustomed to seeing a multitude of hybrid, flatbar road, comfort and mountain bikes coming in for electric fitouts. As a result, it’s always a real treat to work on something completely different. By this standard, we really got lucky when Luke brought his Specialized Fatboy in to us a few weeks ago.

The Bike

Fatbikes have become popular in Australia over the last few years. They’re now used for everything from recreational cruising, to high performance off-road use on surfaces that conventional mountain bikes just can’t handle. That said, a great many fat bikes have been chosen simply because they’re so radically different to conventional models. It was this appeal that made the Specialized a bike that Luke wanted to ride everyday.

The Specialized Fatboy is one of the better entry level fatbikes available today, with a lightweight alloy frame furnished with a dependable wheelset and rugged componentry that makes it more than suitable for the rigors of off-road use. It also sports a very comfortable riding position that affords good all round vision and predictable handling. These features gave it great potential as a high powered e-bike.

Quite possibly the ultimate E-bike!

The Conversion

The main challenge with converting any fatbike is finding a suitable hub motor and wheel combination. Up until recently, a custom wheel build was required. However, fortunately we’re now able to offer a Solarbike 1000 Watt rear wheel kit made specifically for use on fatbikes which greatly simplifies the process.

Battery placement was the next consideration. The 48V Tiger Shark style battery can be mounted centrally within the main triangle of the frame to allow for optimum weight distribution, however Luke preferred to have a rack style battery fitted given that he planned on using the rear carrier to mount pannier bags. This choice also allowed a larger capacity 48V 17Ah Panasonic Lithium Ion battery to be fitted to give this high-powered machine a range of around 35 kms on a charge with a cruising speed of between 40 and 45km/h. Pretty blistering performance we think you’ll agree!

The Verdict

We’ve electrically converted a handful of fatbikes in our store over the past couple of years but few have been quite as exciting as this one! It goes to show that there are a great many possibilities when you choose to custom build an electric bike. So if you’ve got a specialist e-bike build in mind why not drop in and see us at our Fremantle store to discuss our great range of conversion options.